Block Seal/ Steel Seal?

[jaymac]

This is not in refernce to my car, but to my bosses' 99 Subaru Forester. He blew a head gasket, and is trying to avoid paying a shop $1000 to replace it. One option is we do it ourselves, the other option is to give those block/head/headgasket sealers a shot. There's one I saw at Autozone for $8, and one he found online for $45.
You guys ever heard of this working? It's definitely not a high performance application, not a turbo model, and is driven timidly.
What do you think?

 

[z9_87]

I would start off telling him if he bought a car that didnt have an engine shoved in a compartment the size of a glove box the heads would be easy

But for $8 how can you go wrong? If that doesn't work send it to a shop or do the change yourself.

 

[jaymac]

that's my logic.
Damn imports.....

 

[txstang84]

...actually, they do work-kinda they're a good stop gap until you can save up the clams for the repairs, or gird up your loins enough to do it yourself

 

[jaymac]

that's what I figured - buy him some time if nothing else

 

[393Bird]

I had a 59 Tbird with a 390 that had a crack in the block above the strter show up 3 days after I bought it used. A friend told me about K&W block seal. I picked up a radiator at the junk yard to use while running the K&W through the engine. Ran it for about 30 mins and the leak stopped. Drained it, and let it sit over night as per the instructions. Put the good radiator back in, filled it up and no leak. I drove the car for another 2 years and did not have any problems. They did not say anything about the radiator, but I figured I would not take the chance on plugging mine up.

 

[darthcual]

Yes a stop measure but nothing else. I have been turning wrenchs for only about 3 years but i learned one important thing in that time. Its better to fix it right. Thus the reroute of my coolant going to the heater core got repaired correctly when i mustered up the courage to replace it.

 

[z9_87]

If you had a 59 bird why did you get rid of it? I love that car.

 

[jaymac]

but a "temporary fix" for sure?
No snake oil?

 

[txstang84]

from what we've all apparently seen, it does work, and for some-an extended period of time...

sorry, this guy ain't THAT lucky, but even if it doesn't completely stop the leak, it will slow it down quite a bit, i've used that stuff before with leaking rad cores on a 400 mile road trip, and had no leakage...

even if it is "snake oil"...for $8 what have you got to lose?

 

[jaymac]

$8



















j/k
Yeah, it's def. worth a tempoary fix, anyway!